First pick
Elks Park & Campground
Park or garden
7.1 ha
1.2 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Rural Health Professions Action Plan from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada · CC BY 2.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Three Hills · parks, protected land & trails
Three Hills has no protected land within 10 km
For a provincial park, Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park lies 21 km off. The nearest national park is more than 100 km away.
Protected land
0%
of the land within 10 km
Typical Canadian town: 2.3%
Protected areas
0
within 10 km, 0 public
Typical Canadian town: 14
Nearest provincial park
21 km
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
Against other towns
Each figure for Three Hills, set against Canadian towns
Each figure against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (not city hubs or reserves), with the town marked and the typical one’s line. There is no Outdoors grade for Canadian towns; the figures stand beside the country’s towns of 2,500+ without a letter.
Protected within 10 km0%Share of the land and water within 10 km of the town’s edge in a protected or conserved area
Protected in town0%Share of the town’s own area in a protected or conserved area
Public protected areas0Areas within 10 km held by a government or an Indigenous nation
Walking routes0Named OpenStreetMap walking and hiking routes with 300 m+ within 2 km
CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC, 2026), OpenStreetMap (November 2026). Distances from the town’s outline.
Towns its size
Among 40 towns its size, Three Hills is 2nd from the bottom for protected land
The 40 Canadian towns nearest in population (3,439 to 3,570 residents), by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected. Hover for each one’s figures; click for its page.
Protected within 10 km
Three Hills0%
Towns its size1.8%
Towns in Alberta0.4%
Typical Canadian town2.3%
Public protected areas
Three Hills0
Towns its size4
Towns in Alberta2
Typical Canadian town4
Walking routes
Three Hills0
Towns its size0
Towns in Alberta0
Typical Canadian town0
Against towns its size, Three Hills is weakest for public protected areas: 32 of 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Protected within 10 km | In town | Areas | Routes | Beaches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington NB | 32% | 2.4% | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | Shuniah ON | 19% | 1.4% | 13 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | Electoral Area D (Rural Grand Forks), Kootenay Boundary BC | 17% | 21% | 13 | 0 | 39 |
| 4 | Saint-Pascal QC | 17% | 0% | 22 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Lawrencetown NS | 8.5% | 11% | 14 | 2 | 14 |
| 6 | Bridgeview BC | 8.3% | 1.1% | 116 | 4 | 9 |
| 7 | Thurso QC | 8% | 14% | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Mackenzie BC | 7.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | Fessenden ON | 7.3% | 0% | 16 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Malartic QC | 6.6% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Guybourg QC | 6.4% | 0% | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Electoral Area F, Columbia-Shuswap BC | 6.2% | 7.6% | 18 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Edwards - Carlsbad Springs ON | 5.6% | 5.6% | 39 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Port Hawkesbury NS | 5.1% | 0% | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Saint-Thomas QC | 5.1% | 0.5% | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Bifrost-Riverton MB | 5% | 0.7% | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 17 | Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola BC | 3.8% | 4.8% | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Hampton Heights ON | 3.7% | 0% | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | Horton ON | 2.1% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 | Buckland No. 491 SK | 2% | 2.2% | 24 | 0 | 8 |
| 21 | Thorncliff AB | 1.6% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | McMillan MB | 1.5% | 0% | 24 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | Brevoort Park SK | 1.5% | 0% | 17 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Fairfield ON | 1.4% | 0% | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby QC | 1.2% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Buchanan MB | 1.2% | 0.1% | 11 | 1 | 37 |
| 27 | Niakwa Place MB | 0.8% | 4.3% | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Richmond County, Subdivision C NS | 0.6% | 1.8% | 27 | 0 | 31 |
| 29 | Lynnwood AB | 0.4% | 0% | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | Downtown East Village AB | 0.3% | 0% | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 31 | Daly Grove AB | 0.3% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Sakaw AB | 0.2% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 33 | Richfield AB | 0.1% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Saint-Isidore QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Saint-Gilles QC | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Morris MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Carman MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Beausejour MB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 | Three Hills AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Delwood AB | 0% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The map
The green map of Three Hills
The town’s parks, woods, protected land and paths, with its named places numbered.
Green: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, playing fields and woods. Hatched: CPCAD protected areas.© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); CPCAD (OGL-Canada)
Places to walk
5 named parks and woods to walk in near Three Hills
Largest first: Elks Park & Campground leads with 7.1 ha. Numbers match the map.
5 named parks and woods, 11 ha in all
Parks & gardens 11 ha
Two places, Elks Park & Campground and Anderson Park, make up 78% of the total.
Anderson Park
Park or garden
1.8 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Three Hills
Directionsto a point inside
Tower Play Park / Rob Naylor Water Park
Park or garden
0.3 ha
Centralin the middle of Three Hills
Directionsto a point inside
Source: OpenStreetMap parks, gardens, commons and woods with a name, in the town or within 400 m, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Sizes are the mapped outline’s.
Close to home
A park is within a short walk for 6 in 10 in Three Hills
Residents of each 2021 dissemination area, at a point inside it, within 400 m (about a 5-minute walk) of a park or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap.
Within 400 m (57%)Further (43%)
Three Hills57%
Towns in Alberta100%
Typical Canadian town83%
A median Canadian town manages 83%. About 1,500 residents live further than 400 m from one.
Protected areas
Within 10 km of Three Hills, no land is protected
Every protected and conserved area in CPCAD within 10 km of the town’s edge: parks, reserves, wildlife areas and conservation land.
The nearest provincial park is Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 21 km away.
Source: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
National & provincial parks
The nearest big park: Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 21 km away
National parks (Parks Canada) and provincial or territorial parks by direction and distance from the town’s edge: every one within 10 km, and the nearest of each within 100 km.
National parkProvincial park
Provincial park
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park
21 km north-east16 km²since 1970
For a national park, people in Three Hills travel more than 100 km.
Source: CPCAD 2.9.0 (ECCC): areas and outlines, distances outline to outline; directions from the town’s centre point.
Footpaths and woods
Three Hills and its edge hold 6 km of footpath
OpenStreetMap footpaths, paths, bridleways and steps, and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it; woods as mapped (landuse=forest, natural=wood).
Footpaths
6.2 km
in and around the town (21.2 km²)
Woodland
0%
of the town and 1 km around it
Footpaths · km per km²
Three HillsTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Footpaths0.3
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Three HillsTowns in AlbertaTypical Canadian town
Woodland0%
0%50%100%
For path density, 73% of Canadian towns do better.
Source: OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Mapping varies by place: a dense figure can mean keen local mappers as much as many paths.
Walking routes
No named walking route passes Three Hills on the map
Named walking and hiking routes on OpenStreetMap with at least 300 m within 2 km of the town, longest first; national routes lead.
OpenStreetMap lists no walking route near the town, though paths on the ground may well exist.
Source: OpenStreetMap (route relations hiking, foot and walking), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Trans Canada Trail sections as OSM maps them.
When to get out
Get out in Three Hills in May and September
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals from Red Deer (68 km), and daylight at the town’s latitude. Good months: 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15–30 °C, little rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 15.6 | 16.6 | 16.2 | 14.6 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 |
| High (°C) | -5 | -2 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 13 | 3 | -4 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 16 | 12 | 19 | 28 | 58 | 98 | 90 | 70 | 38 | 22 | 17 | 14 |
For dry weather, February is best (12 mm); June gets 98 mm. July is the warmest month, with highs around 26 °C; January the coldest, at -5 °C. The climate in Three Hills →
Things to do
4 things to do outdoors near Three Hills
Viewpoints, peaks, waterfalls, picnic sites, nature reserves, playgrounds, dog parks, campsites and boat launches mapped within 2 km of the town.
Count 3 playgrounds, the biggest group.
Every named place, with directions
Playgrounds 3
Plus 3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
Threehills Campgroundin town
DirectionsSource: OpenStreetMap (tourism, natural, waterway and leisure tags), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Next door
Next to Three Hills
The nearest places, coloured by the share of the land within 10 km that is protected; tap one for its outdoors page.
Kneehill CountyTrochuThree Hills
Under 1%1–5%5–15%15–40%40%+
| Town | Protected within 10 km | Areas | Routes | Beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Hills | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kneehill County 2.1 km | 1.3% | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Trochu 14 km | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Around Kneehill County the protected share is at least double.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Private land. Areas held by land trusts or private owners stay unnamed here, though they count in the shares.
- National and provincial parks. A park at 0 km touches or overlaps the town’s outline; directions point from the town’s centre.
- Walking routes. The list is OpenStreetMap’s, so a missing trail may just be unmapped. The Trans Canada Trail appears where OSM maps it.
- Protected land. Measured on CPCAD’s outlines: the part of a 10 km band around the town that lies in a protected or conserved area, water included.
Questions about the outdoors in Three Hills
What is the nearest national park to Three Hills?
None within 100 km of Three Hills.
What is the best season to get outdoors in Three Hills?
May and September: long days, mild highs and little rain.
Is there a provincial park near Three Hills?
Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 21 km from the edge of town.
Sources
Sources for this page on Three Hills
Protected areas: Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) 2.9.0, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2026: every area within 10 km and the nearest national and provincial parks, measured outline to outline.
Walking routes and beaches: OpenStreetMap, November 2026: named hiking, foot and walking route relations within 2 km and beaches within 5 km.
Towns: Statistics Canada 2021 Census boundaries and populations; the comparison is the Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, not city hubs or reserves.
When to go: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020, from the nearest station that publishes them.
Green space, paths, woods, things to do: OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik’s Canada extract), November 2026: parks, gardens, playing fields, woods, footpaths, the coastline and things to do in and around each town.
Residents: Statistics Canada 2021 Census dissemination areas (population, boundaries), each at a point inside it.
Walking routes and beaches © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Not on this page: trailheads and trail grades, and beach water quality. No open Canadian dataset gives these for every town yet.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).